Dhiar
Dhiar (most closely pronounced zhyar, and meaning 'the moment of love') is the main character of Incubus Tales, the titular Incubus and owner and proprietor of the shop Phantasies. He tends to present an upbeat and cheerful personality and optimistic outlook, which occasionally lapses into almost cavalier silliness. However, in the blink of an eye he also may take on an ancient, wiser approach that seems more suited to his long lifetime. He has black hair, which is not a regular black but a magical sort of black, making it silkier and with a more beautiful sheen. It can, at times, take on an iridescence in certain light. His eyes are deep and dark, but they do not seem to be any single identifiable colour. His skin is pale, but it has a reddish tint to it that most demons have. His ears are angled at the tops, again like most demons, but his long curls tend to conceal them. He prefers to wear his hair long and can't stand short hair. Dhiar tends to dress in simple elegance that allows him a great range of movement. His favourite colours to wear are usually shades of red accompanied by black, although he has been known to wear other colours from time to time. He never wears leather or fur, or any other animal-derived materials because they cause him pain due to his inherent telemetry ability. He tends to have a flair for the dramatic in dress, although he does not tend towards the needlessly ornate. Dhiar's favourite pastime is blending tea. He is always developing new mixtures to sell in his shop, or to enjoy on his own. He also excels at gardening, which is partially due to his natural magic ability. Dhiar is a vegetarian and a world-class-level chef, having visited many countries to learn about their styles of cuisine. As an Incubus, he does not have to eat food like humans do, since he needs only to consume pleasure. However, because the enjoyment of good food is a type of pleasure, he regularly partakes in it and loves to cook it for others. His philosophy is that giving someone food is like giving them life, so he always cooks with all his heart. Dhiar is inordinately fond of cartoons, especially classics like Betty Boop. He is attracted to men, but he has said on several occasions that it isn't a consideration when flirting; he will flirt with anyone. History Dhiar came into existence, like all demons, in the Abyss, from the fertile energies of his mother Lilith. As all demons do, he slowly began to experiment with different forms, at last settling upon his favourite. He spent some time enjoying the hospitality of Dis and the countryside surrounding, and with his sister Chana's encouragement, who was born at the same time as Dhiar, he happened to meet some of the nobility and was quite well-received for his Incubus charm. However, in time he realised that the life of hobnobbing and acting the social butterfly was not suited to him. Like most all demons, he was taken with a certain wanderlust, and a desire to see different vistas than those of the boundless Abyss. So, with a simple letter to his mother so she would not worry, he weighed his options and set out. After some brief wandering, mainly catching random rails around the many realms connected to his home, he came to a place called Noctemburg. This mostly-subterranean city stretched in a vast spread, some areas strikingly different from others, and some quite dangerous. Nonetheless Dhiar quickly settled into the city's pace and began to show interest in a younger demon whom he took as a sort of protege. One thing Dhiar noticed was that, even in the most conducive parts of Noctemburg to the idea, few adult-oriented shops existed. Inspired by this, he arranged the magical creation of Phantasies, a whimsically-named shop that would stock various items, mainly geared towards adult intimacy. Aware that any good shop needed a special feature, he arranged the phallic toys on a wall very prominently visible from the front of the shop. It gradually received the name of the "Wall of Dildos", and this succeeded magnificently in spreading the awareness of Phantasies. He was briefly acquainted with a girl who was unsure as to whether she was a ghost or spirit and helped her find her way again, in this city. Later his protege became more independent and more distant from Dhiar, but by that point Dhiar had become interested in a sort of Angel who amused him, as well as another younger demon, a dancer at the nearby club. The Angel tried to keep his distance, although he thought Dhiar well-intentioned, and the dancer was quite flighty, coming and going at his whim. Briefly Dhiar dallied with a Vampire, but the differences between them were insurmountable and, eventually, the two parted ways. For a little while, a detective frequented Phantasies and passed time with Dhiar, but in time his work in the area was done and Dhiar was, again, left alone. The dancer, he found out a little while later, had left Noctemburg to pursue other possibilities in another city. Dhiar soon after met Evvin at the same club, and then met Anton at a vampire holiday party. Their time in his life was relatively brief but important, and he found himself a part of urging them to find happiness outside of Noctemburg together. At this time, he also began to provide service to Lothring. After Evvin's departure, he met Siros, and the two had an ideal relationship. However, after a trip back to Dis, Siros had to return to his duties for a time. When Miranda's advice confirmed his own feelings, Dhiar decided that this was the time he should leave Noctemburg, even if not forever. He travelled more afterwards and, in time, came to regard Phantasies as his home, restoring it and travelling inside it instead. Soon after he came to this decision, Chana came to him and consoled him about leaving Noctemburg. She encouraged him, believing it had been the right choice, and the two decided that she should make Phantasies her place of residence, from which she could freely come and go. On her suggestion, she and Dhiar directed the shop to her favourite place, the world of the perpetual 1920s. For a time he was content, a bit hedonistic in his desire to heal the emotional damage that had been done by his time in Noctemburg. He came to enjoy Chana's friends, and even met her friend Helen Kane on several occasions. Dhiar became acquainted with a young man named Merry, and a singer named Tomas, and he and Chana both enjoyed themselves with wild abandon. It was a happy time, and the siblings went together to tour Europe, in order to restore Dhiar's panache. On the way, he met a sailor named Adoric and sailed to Scotland with him before joining Chana in Berlin. But even as he healed, he also found himself falling into uncomfortably similar patterns and decided to take a little bit of time away. Setting out for exciting-sounding destinations, he came across a Camelot where he was able to assist Morgaine in settling a matter. He invited her to call upon him if she ever had the need, and she respectfully thanked him. Soon after, he met interdimensional adventurer Hawkye L. Narasumas and was invited to come along and fight a common foe in Camelot. Thinking that it may be the same place from which he had just come, he went along. It turned out to be a different Camelot, but the two bonded as boon companions and fought against the truly despicable foe, vanquishing the threat. After some wandering and adventuring, he settled Phantasies in a city where he met Joshua, who no longer had a place of his own to live. His previous master had vanished on him, and he was alone and with no-one to care for him. Dhiar took him in and let him live at Phantasies, and in grateful return Joshua decided to do his best work for the shop. Chana arrived soon after, and the two established something like a sibling relationship of their own, Chana being more able to act the role of the older sister with Joshua. The close-knit family settled into a sort of routine for a while, and Chana developed an idea for them to craft a television advertisement. Although initially unsure, Dhiar was very happy with the eventual result. Chana arranged for a magical tool that broadcast the advertisement whenever Phantasies appeared in a new location, which helped business and allowed them to stay in several places longer than they usually did. One night, abruptly, Dhiar was snatched out of the shower, leaving a very confused Joshua behind. However, he found himself in Camelot again, summoned by Morgaine, who needed his assistance for her son Mordred. Dhiar had seen him before and been attracted, but the two had never met. After finding suitable attire, he set out to rendezvous with Mordred. After his adventure in Camelot, he briefly was able to relax with his friend Jenny Everywhere. Subsequently he found himself fighting the corrupt sorceror Rehzier at the side of hunky Djinn Lanimaz. With the help of Joshua's keen planning and Chana's charisma, they were able to liberate the kingdom and restore Lanimaz and his beloved brother Opaliz to their rightful ruling positions. Summoned once again to another world, a slightly grumpy Dhiar found himself swept up in to adventures of Byron and Shelley, a mischievous duo hell bent on stealing a Pettoishi named Picow. With the help of an ancient artifact and some magical knowhow, Dhiar was able to resolve the situation and even to teach everyone a valuable lesson. After this, a noticeably less gruff Dhiar found himself summoned again, although this time it was to Prince Amaranth's kingdom, to stop the villain Salious and his Ogre Kozul. Drawn into a conflict of greater breadth, Dhiar was reunited with Chana, who had been functioning as the local Seer of the Elves. With the help of Chana and the young human heroes, as well as the Prince and Moongleam the Elf, the Seer was liberated and the Stone Emperor was defeated. Working in Phantasies one evening, Dhiar was approached by Dee, an old lover who spent some time catching up on their time together in Noctemburg. Later, Dhiar had to go on an escapade to rescue Joshua from the evil plans of Dong Krang, during which time he joined the men from Kroih to stop the evil tyrant. After a short time more, he found himself summoned by some musicians in Japan, desperate for guidance. He helped them and also reunited with an old friend, Umajima Sachiko, before leaving again for new destinations. Eventually, Chana returned to the shop and Dhiar was motivated to act when Lapin wandered in one night, injured and concerned about Zelix. Dhiar embarked on a mission to save his uncle, only to find him turned to stone. Then the Incubus was ambused, but the attempt was foiled by the intervention of Hawkye and Chana. Dhiar and Hawkye then continued on to join with Tenebrare and Tamhu, and they confronted the group responsible. After helping the misguided youths, Dhiar and Hawkye led the way to confront Ruvial Gatthies, or more accurately a lich inhabiting his body. The lich attempted to summon the Lord of Abominations, but thanks to efforts of the three youths, Hawkye, and Dhiar, it was repelled. Dhiar said farewell to Tenebrare and Tamhu after Zelix was restored to health, although it was clear the Incubus would have a long recovery ahead of him from wounds inflicted by the Lord of Abominations. Dhiar eventually found his way to a seaside town, for some rest and healing, and stayed there until the autumn, more or less having recovered from his injuries. Shortly thereafter, the Nockers delivered Uhr to Phantasies, at a time when Dhiar was alone in the shop. The two rummaged in the storeroom of Phantasies, and Dhiar then found that the shop had relocated to a realm beloved to the Incubus, from his youth: Cheersville! He and Uhr helped to bring happiness to Georgie and friends, and then Dhiar was summoned away to England by an overzealous Mrs. Bennet. Dhiar managed to assist Mrs. Bennet and her family, thanks largely to her daughter Mary's sensible nature and the Incubus's persuasive approach. Meanwhile, Chana and Joshua sought out Lanimaz to try and locate Dhiar, with Uhr running to rescue him. Soon after, on the way to a bonfire, Dhiar was diverted to a world dominated by the Teabag Consortium, a corrupt political group known for its brutality and hate tactics. He organised a group of adult film star heroes with superhuman powers to stand against the Teabaggers and their sinister leader, who had tricked the Doom League, a group of villains, and kidnapped and brainwashed the well-known costumed heroes. A great clash occurred, but Dhiar's group came out on top. He departed the place after welcoming Diabolus D. Devil to the Phantasies family. Abilities * Dhiar possesses a natural aura that enhances feelings of pleasure and diminishes unpleasant feelings, making most people enjoy his presence. * He possesses a natural empathy that allows him to receive impressions of others' feelings in the immediate vicinity. * He is also gifted with a kind of telemetry, which enables him to understand and analyse the past (to some extent) of objects that he touches. He can also receive emotional impulses even from inanimate objects. It is because of this gift that he is loath to be in long-term contact with leather or fur, and so they are never a part of his clothing. He is also a vegetarian for this reason. Unexpected contact with traumatic items, obviously, can stun him and disorient him; if the item is unpleasant enough, it may make him ill. * Dhiar does not age like humans and requires no real maintenance to his body, since he has a great deal of control over its appearance and structure. * He possesses excellent reflexes and superhuman grace, and he is actually more graceful than most demons because through his adventures, he has cultivated the ability. He has trained in fencing, whip-handling, and dance, amongst other things. Although he is very knowledgeable about firearms, he finds them distasteful and will not use them, as a rule. * Dhiar uses his morphic abilities for various things, although the most regular use is to allow his penis to adopt a circumcised or uncircumcised appearance, depending on the preference of his lover. If he is not in the presence of a lover or someone who harbours desire for him, it will tend to default to uncircumcised. Sometimes, as well, the expectations of others present may influence how it appears. He can also shift its size, but he prefers to do this more subtly and keeps his member at a reasonable size most of the time. * Dhiar is able to teleport to Phantasies, as part of his bond with it. However, he uses this ability sparingly and tends to prefer simply summoning the shop telepathically and walking in normally. * Dhiar can speak and understand any language that he comes into contact with, although new languages or dialects will take a little bit before he can process them. * He is quite proficient at magical studies, but he prefers not to use overt magic if possible. * Due to his physiology, Dhiar is unaffected by most temperature extremes. He feels heat and cold, but they do not disturb him as they would a human. He could reach into a fire without harming himself, or stand naked in bitter cold without worry. However, extended such exposure is not altogether pleasant and he tries to avoid it. * As part of his Incubus gifts, he is able to undress quickly. This also applies to other things placed on his body, which makes it very difficult to tie him up, for example. * He is especially good with pets, by his own admission. This apparently extends to any sort of being regarded as a pet, even Ogres. Category:Characters